Path 2

New Yorkers: Miserable, Maybe, But Not Suicidal!

April 25, 2011

According to a new joint study from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and England’s University of Warwick, New Yorkers are the least likely of Americans to commit suicide. Even so, that does not mean we’re particularly happy. Researchers determined that people’s overall feelings of well-being may actually relate inversely to suicide rates, meaning that the “happiest places” end up having the higher suicide rates. Researcher Andrew Oswald explained that “discontented people in a happy place may feel particularly harshly treated by life,” A/K/A, misery loves company. Whereas if you’re the happiest person in a roomful (or state) of unhappy people, you probably feel pretty much okay, if in need of some new friends.

Utah was the number 1 state in terms of residents’ sense of well-being; at the same time, it was ranked 9 in suicide rate. Meanwhile, New York state was only 45th in well-being…but 50th in suicide.

If you don’t believe that, the top 10 states for well-being are Utah, Louisiana, Colorado, Minnesota, Wyoming, Hawaii, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, and Nevada. Keep in mind, “four of those states also are in the top 10 for suicide rates, with Nevada ranked 3rd, Wyoming, 5th; Colorado, 6th; and Utah, 9th.”